I’m not sure if my living situation qualifies as “outstate” as much as it feels like it sometime. There is a barn on my property, along with a grain silo. Two of our neighbors have horse pastures, and agricultural is still a large part of the community. But I live in Becker, located in Sherburne County. It is […]
I spent much of this spring exploring the system of bike lanes and trails that South Minneapolis has to offer, as well as the state and county lands here in Sherburne County. Both are relatively new to me despite being a lifelong Minnesota resident. I spent my childhood in Becker, which meant our family made many […]
As I write this, the 2016 Minnesota legislative session is coming to a close, and last-minute discussions are taking place to try and sort out transportation funding. One of the major options is the possibility of a 0.5% metro-area sales tax for transit, an increase from the 0.25% currently collected for the Counties Transit Improvement Board. […]
We are living in a fascinating time for urban design. Over the past 20 years, at various levels of acceptance, the United States has realized the error in its ways of the past 50-60 years. A half-century of anti-dense and anti-diverse urban planning has rendered our culture vulnerable to collapse. It is as though America […]
Fictional French film maker Jean-Francois Malibu supplied us with this short film based on his own reflections having been born and raised in Rochester. Many thanks to him, or as they say in French, “merci beaucoup.”
In my last few articles, I’ve looked at the city block layouts of Minneapolis and Saint Paul (both downtown and citywide) and compared them to a few suburbs. I thought it would be useful to also make some comparisons with cities outside of the metro area, to see what they’re like. Above, I have a […]
Rochester is lousy with plans. We have vision documents and planning studies all around us. Yet we are mired in the weeds trying to figure out how we can possibly implement much of what is depicted in these prognosticating documents. 9 | ACCEPT THAT ROCHESTER IS NOT SOMEPLACE ELSE Rochester suffers, in some respects, […]
Previously I have described the inherent qualities of urbanity. So if you are trying to reinforce or perhaps create from scratch that essence of being urban–determining what typifies the essence of a livable city–where should you begin? I believe that to truly begin to embrace urban is to accept two rudimentary principles. Two vilified, egregious, […]
“Cities resemble lovers, offering allure, annoyance, and late-night availability.” -Emilie Buchwald I am a self-described urbanist. I grew up in a city, I have lived near city centers, and I have relished in the urban renaissance being experienced across the United States. Here in Rochester, Minnesota I have been a passionate advocate for grassroots long-range […]
As a follow-up to Friday’s Chart of the Day showing a scatterplot of Minnesota population change versus population level, here is a map showing that population change spatially (i.e. geographically): As discussed in the Friday thread, the largest counties in the state tended to grow while the smallest counties tended to shrink. While the largest […]